US Trip #1

The first of, as it turned out, many trips to the US this year.  Thanks to work for my Platinum frequent flyer status!

I arrived on the Saturday so I could spend the weekend with Ian and his wife Hong Mei.   They suggested going wine-tasting in the Napa Valley.  Who was I to say "No"?!

Figure 1: Napa Valley

Work decided to get my entire department (there are about a dozen of us) together in San Francisco to brainstorm what we needed to get done in the year ahead - quite probably the most useful 3 days I have spent since joining the company 6 years ago.

I decided to take advantage of the trip and head north to Oregon to see Neil (and old university friend) and his wife Robin.  Robin is originally from Wisconsin but they moved to Oregon for Robin's work.

The whole week I was in the US, the weather was incredibly warm (over 20C/70F) the entire time.  So we decided to head west from Portland to the Pacific coast.

Figure 2: Oregon Beach with Neil and Robin